Ergonomic Skills Research Articles

Robotic-Assisted Surgery Training (RAST): Assessment of Surgeon Console Ergonomic Skills

The aim of this study was to evaluate the responsiveness of postgraduate year (PGY) general surgery residents (GSRs) to surgeon console ergonomics within the robotic-assisted surgery training (RAST) program. This was a prospective educational study. GSRs were prepared with a pretraining educational video. Faculty provided one-on-one resident hands-on training and testing. Nine proficiency criteria (emergency stop & recover; left side pod adjustments; touchpad controls; footswitch panel; energy control pedals; camera control & focus; arm swap; master & finger clutch; dual console settings control) were assessed with a 5-point Likert-scale. Responsiveness was defined as change in performance over time. The robotic platform was Da Vinci Xi (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA). The Dundee ready educational environment measure (DREEM) inventory was used by GSRs to assess the educational environment. Tertiary care academic teaching institution. A total of 22 GSRs: 4 PGY 1, 4 PGY 2, 4 PGY 3, 5 PGY 4, 5 PGY 5. From June 2022 to March 2023 the hands-on console time decreased at testing when compared to baseline: median 39.0 (range 37-41) vs 20.1 (range 19-22) minutes, respectively. There was no difference in mean hands-on testing scores stratified by PGY: 4.85±0.4 PGY1; 4.98 ± 0.3 PGY2; 4.86 ± 0.4 PGY3, 4.88 ± 0.2 PGY4, and 4.91 ± 0.1 PGY5 (ANOVA test; p = 0.095). The overall DREEM score was 167.1 ± 16.9 with CAC = 0.908 (excellent internal consistency). Training in ergonomics on the surgeon console impacted the responsiveness of the GSRs with 51% console time reduction. There were no differences in hands-on testing scores among PGYs. Perception of the educational environment by the GSRs was high.

Virtual Reality Simulator Enhances Ergonomics Skills for Neurosurgeons

This paper aims to assess the needs of neurosurgical training in order to strategize the future plans for simulation and rehearsal. The main objective is to investigate the ability of virtual reality to enhance the training. An online questionnaire has been conducted among surgeons practicing in different countries across the globe. The study shows significant differences in rehearsal methods and surgical teaching methods practiced by the respondents. Among respondents, 90% did believe that virtual reality technology can serve surgical training, and almost all respondents agreed that there is a gap in the existing neurosurgical training in terms of operating room ergonomics. Adequate education on surgical ergonomics might lead to an improvement in the outcomes for both surgeon and patient. The contribution of the paper is twofold. One side investigates the new requirements for the enhancement of neurosurgeon training and adoption on a virtual reality simulator. The other side contributes to the body of knowledge related to the required ergonomics skills.

Virtual Reality Simulator for Training on Surgery Ergonomics Skills

This work focuses on ergonomics skills based on Virtual Reality (VR) training simulator for spine surgery. The proposed system used the Head Mounted Display (HMD) device for monitoring and data collection. The aim of the project was to provide a training approach for residents that would enable them to acquire the proper ergonomic skills needed while performing spine surgery. A VR training simulator has been designed and implemented to measure two ergonomic skills required that need to be maintained during any surgery. The two components were neck’s angle and table’s height. The experiments showed that the users are usually focused on their work and tend to pay less attention to their body’s position and movements. This can result in a wrong ergonomics setup, which leads to musculoskeletal pain. Thus, the users (residents) need to be trained to have good ergonomics positions. The proposed system measured this using a specific metric that collected head positions, angles, elbow height, and other parameters. The designed model was a VR simulator for neurosurgical education in particular; however, it might be good for some other similar surgeries. The study concluded that incorporating simulations into residents’ training and simulated surgeries can strengthen the surgeons’ skills and outcomes. As a result, both residents and expert surgeons can benefit from the use of the developed model.

Ergonomics in design and design in ergonomics: Issues and experience in education.

Articulating design and ergonomics skills through education is a major challenge for both fields. Indeed, professional ergonomists are increasingly deeply involved in design processes, and ergonomics education should train them in design skills. As courses in ergonomics education are often time-constrained, it is difficult to mobilize students in real-scale projects and to involve them in design processes. Conversely, activity analysis and active involvement of users in design projects (through co-creation or co-design processes) are rarely convened in architecture and design curricula. It is therefore necessary to develop effective and relevant pedagogical settings, enabling students of both fields to develop their abilities and equip them to act in concrete design situations. In this paper, we describe a large-scale pedagogical setting involving groups of students from different disciplines gathered around a real-scale design project (re-shaping the waiting room of a mental health center). The ergonomics students' main task is to analyze the needs and real activities of end-users; the interior design students' task is to produce the design project. This communication more precisely focuses on describing the ergonomics students' fieldwork and the practical and pedagogical innovations put in place to help them face the various challenges encountered during the project. Based on formal feedback from students, teachers and stakeholders, we address three main challenges: (1) dealing with the temporal constraints of the intervention, (2) documenting and observing a sensitive situation and (3) involving end-users to place them at the core of the design process. For each challenge, we describe the issue at stake, the work conducted to deal with this issue, and eventually the feedback collected from students, teachers and stakeholders. The paper concludes with an analysis of success and failure factors for such pedagogical settings, in particular for physical enquiry devices, co-creation processes, and co-constructed pedagogical settings. It shows the impact of these settings for students, but highlight that collaboration between ergonomists and designers is a key issue for learning in a positive experience.

The Current State of Surgical Ergonomics Education in U.S. Surgical Training: A Survey Study.

The aim of this study was to characterize the current state of surgical ergonomics education in the United States. The burden of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in surgeons is high and no overarching strategy for redress exists. Twelve distinct specialties describe an unmet need for surgical ergonomics education (SEE). This study aimed to define the current state of SEE in U.S. surgical training programs. We performed a descriptive analysis of a 20-item questionnaire of ACGME-certified program directors from 14 surgical and interventional medical specialties. Formal SEE was defined as any organized education module that reviewed the occupation-specific burden of common work-related MSDs and described a framework for prevention via occupation-specific applied ergonomics. Program directors were queried regarding SEE provision, characteristics, and perceived trainee attitude toward the education. Questionnaires were received from 130 of 441 (29.5%) program directors. Two (1.5%) provided formal SEE and 33 (25.4%) provided informal SEE, which consisted of unstructured intraoperative directives and isolated lectures. Two programs previously provided SEE but discontinued the effort due to lack of an evidence-based framework and instructors. Trainees appeared to think that learning surgical ergonomics skills was a worthwhile time investment in 100% and 76.7% of current formal and informal SEE, respectively. SEE is rarely provided in any capacity (25.4%), let alone in a consistent or evaluable fashion (1.5%). Impediments to sustainable SEE include lack of an evidence-based framework for education and instructors. An evidence-based, reproducible, and accreditation council-compliant SEE module would be a valuable resource for the surgical and interventional medical communities.

Integration of human factors into the design process of helicopter maintainability

AbstractThe integration of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) in maintenance activities may improve the working conditions of maintenance operators by reducing errors and accidents. Maintainability takes into account HFE in the aeronautics industry to anticipate the design of the aircrafts, following the CPA regulation FAR/CS‐25.1309, for large transport category. For the helicopter field, there are no official recommendations but the rotorcraft industry tries to integrate HFE into its design phases of maintainability to increase flight safety. Without a standard framework, the aviation industries (plane and helicopter) develop their own way of working and requirements. Furthermore, previous studies highlight the lack of compromise between the design and HFE criteria in maintainability. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to investigate how HFE is integrated within all steps of the design process in the maintainability department of helicopter manufacturers in France. The ergonomic skills and knowledge of stakeholders were studied and the associated tools to evaluate the HFE criteria were surveyed. We observed that maintainability stakeholders underutilize powerful simulation tools, which are sufficient for and efficient at performing HFE analysis. Additionally, it was reported that understanding of HFE information weakened over the course of the milestones of the design project progressed. Our conclusion details the need to provide a simple methodology or rather a relevant tool that helps maintainability stakeholders to integrate HFE in a homogenous way along all the design project milestones.

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Dentists in Al-Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most common occupational hazards associated with a wide range of occupations. Dental professionals have an increased risk of developing such disorders caused by repetitive, hard, or stressful gestures. Taking this issue into consideration, we felt the necessity to investigate the prevalence and distribution of musculoskeletal symptoms among dentists in Al-Madinah. Materials and methods: A self-reported questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 180 dentists from different parts of Al-Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was about musculoskeletal symptoms in different parts of the body. Results: A total of 70 questionnaires were completed and returned. Of the respondents, 47 (67.1%) were males and 23 (32.9%) were females. The mean age of respondents was 36.1 ± 8.7. Majority were general dental practitioners [45 (64.2%)], with the remainder being specialists [25 (35.8%)]. Prevalence of MSD during the past 12 months was reported to be lower back pain (65.7%), neck pain (48.6%), and shoulder pain (45.7%), with the lowest prevalence pain being found in the hips and thighs (17.1%). Conclusion: The results suggested that the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among dentists in Al-Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is high. Continuing education for dentists and dental students about the proper and correct dental positions as well as practicing ergonomic skills and incorporating them into the curriculum would be beneficial.

From dV-Trainer to Real Robotic Console: The Limitations of Robotic Skill Training

To investigate operators' performance quality, mental stress, and ergonomic habits through a training curriculum on robotic simulators. Forty volunteers without robotic surgery experience were recruited to practice 2 exercises on a dV-Trainer (dVT) for 14 hours. The simulator software (M-scorea) provided an automatic evaluation of the overall score for the surgeons' performance. Each participant provided a subjective difficulty score (validity to be proven) for each exercise. Their ergonomic habits were evaluated based on the workspace range and armrest load-validated criteria for evaluating the proficiency of using the armrest. They then repeated the same tasks on a da Vinci Surgical Skill Simulator for a final-level test. Their final scores were compared with their initial scores and the scores of 5 experts on the da Vinci Surgical Skill Simulator. A total of 14 hours of training on the dVT significantly improved the surgeons' performance scores to the expert level with a significantly reduced workload, but their ergonomic score was still far from the expert level. Sufficient training on the dVT improves novices' performance, reduces psychological stress, and inculcates better ergonomic habits. Among the evaluated criteria, novices had the most difficulty in achieving expert levels of ergonomic skills. The training benefits of robotic surgery simulators should be determined with quantified variables. The detection of the limitations during robotic training curricula could guide the targeted training and improve the training effect.

Ergonomic Challenges of Employees Using Computers at Work in a Tertiary Institution in Ghana

Objective: Ergonomically designed workstations have direct bearing on the comfort and safety of office computer users. Tremendous usage of computers in most offices of emerging economies have however, not seen accompanying applications of ergonomics in the design of computer workstations despite the numerous benefits. Injuries and discomforts therefore have higher propensity to occur since most offices formally designed for paperbased work now accommodate computer workstations, without corresponding redesigning. The study therefore sought to assess computer workstation designs in administrative offices at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, with the aim of creating awareness of ergonomics and its application among administrative office computer users. Method: A total of 150 office employees purposively sampled participated in this study. Respondents selected included secretaries, research assistants and data and account processors. This cross-sectional study consisted of a checklist (computer workstation components, visual complaints and ergonomics knowledge), work posture observations and measurements of workstation linear distances and monitor tilt angle. Descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Results: Almost half (50%) of respondents had monitors facing windows without appropriate blinds, 42% with monitor tilt angle less than 10 degrees and majority (76%) observed monitors either at or above horizontal eye level. Most (70%) of the workers acknowledged not having knowledge of ergonomics whiles 100% noted that they did not have any ergonomic assessment of their workstations. Neck, back and shoulder pains were reported by 85% of respondents while 73% complained of eyestrain. Conclusion: The study revealed lack of information and skills in ergonomics contributing to poor ergonomic conditions and consequent visual discomforts among computer users in the work place.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner – a Case Study in Large-Scale Design Integration

The development of an all-new commercial transport airplane presents a unique opportunity for the practical application of human factors and ergonomics skills and methods in a large-scale engineering program. From satisfying the needs and desires of a widely diverse global user population that includes passengers, pilots, flight attendants, maintenance workers, ground service personnel, and factory workers; to ensuring that the human interface is appropriately addressed across the whole airplane, including a vast array of systems; the integration of human factors into the overall design process represents a significant challenge to the human factors' community. Successfully balancing key human interface parameters such as safety, usability, producibility, maintainability, and training along with other design parameters such as economic viability, airplane mission requirements, and physical design constraints like weight, drag, and volume is the goal of human system integration.

Ergonomics, and occupational health and safety in the oil industry: a managers' response

The main objective of this research was to investigate ergonomics, occupational health and safety problems of an oil industry in a developing country. Fifty-six industrial unit managers participated in the study. Forty-eight percent of the managers received worker complaints of back pain, 36% of fatigue, 32% of upper-body pain, 48% of stress and 46% of dissatisfaction. Fifty-seven percent of the managers reported a hot environment, 36% a noisy environment, and 41% a lack of resources and facilities. Sixty-two percent had no knowledge or access to ergonomics information, while 64% of the managers did not carry out an ergonomic assessment of their units. A significant correlation (p < 0.01) was found among ergonomics and safety indicators and average injury rates. Lack of skills in ergonomics, communication and resources are believed to be some of the major factors contributing to the poor ergonomic conditions and consequent increase in health and safety problems in this industry.

Worker productivity, and occupational health and safety issues in selected industries

The main objective of this research was to identify factors that affected worker productivity, occupational health and safety in selected industries in a developing country. Fifty production managers participated in the study. Fifty-four percent of the managers reported hot environmental conditions, 28% a noisy environment, and 26% a lack of resources and facilities. Managers received worker complaints of fatigue, back pain, upper-body pain, hand and wrist pain and headaches. Management (88%) acknowledged not having knowledge or access to ergonomics information. Ninety-four percent of the companies did not carry out ergonomic assessments. A significant correlation (p<0.01) was found among productivity indicators and health and organizational attributes. Lack of skills in ergonomics and training, communication and resources are believed to be some of the factors contributing to the poor ergonomic conditions and consequent loss of worker productivity and reduced health and safety in these industries.

Bimanual Training Reduces Spatial Interference

The authors investigated whether training can reduce bimanual directional interference by using a star-line drawing paradigm, Participants (N = 30) were required to perform rhythmical arm movements with identical temporal but differing directional demands. Moreover, the effectiveness of part-task training in which each movement was practiced in isolation was compared with that of whole-task training in which only combined movements were performed. Findings revealed that bimanual training substantially reduced spatial interference, but unimanual training did not. The authors therefore concluded that the spatial coupling of the limbs is not implemented in a rigid way; instead, the underlying neural correlate can undergo plastic changes induced by training. Moreover, the practical implication that emerged from the present study is that athletic, musical, or ergonomic skills that require a high degree of interlimb coordination are best served by whole-task practice.

Ergonomic Conditions in Small Manufacturing Industries

Ergonomic conditions in small manufacturing industries were investigated. Twenty seven managers of small manufacturing industries participated in the study. Old equipment and machines, poorly designed workplaces, lack of systematic planning, layout and organization, unsafe working conditions and poor environment were found common to these industries. Fifty-nine percent of companies indicated having equipment older than 15 years. Fifty-two percent of company managers reported receiving complaints of fatigue from their workforce, 41% complaints of back pain, and 33% complaints of upper-body pain. Seventy eight percent of companies reported a noisy environment (above 90 dBA) while 63% reported a hot environment. Management in 44% of the companies acknowledged failure to ensure safety rules and 48% did not provide training on manual material handling. Lack of skills in ergonomics and training, communication and resources are believed to be some of the factors contributing to the poor ergonomic conditions in a sample of small manufacturing industries in Malaysia.

Solving workplace problems associated with VDTs

The introduction of VDTs into the vast majority of modern working environments represents a substantial change in the disciplines of work for many people. This paper describes how the health and safety issues associated with this change were managed in one organisation by the acquisition of ergonomics skills and their combination with occupational health surveillance techniques. The results show that ergonomics problems far outweighed symptomatic complaints, but symptomatic complaints were strongly associated with high VDT occupancy. The processes used resulted in high response rates from VDT users and an excellent ‘clear-up’ rate of problems. The solution of these problems was quantified in terms of difficulty and cost.

Ergonomic Skills Training: Discussion of Methods Used to Improve Skill and Comfort Levels of Workers Using Video Display Terminals

Ergonomic Skills Training is the new way of enabling workers to take responsibility for their own comfort and productivity in VDT environments. After receiving Ergonomic Skills Training, VDT users have demonstrated productivity increases, and error decreases, in a variety of applications. In addition, they have reported dramatic improvement in their health/comfort levels. The training involves the following: Short-term Memory Skills in both visual and auditory perception which serve to reduce keying and proofing errors. Physical exercises to be performed at the workstation throughout the day to prevent and/or reduce fatigue, eyestrain, muscular pain. Individual workstation adjustments to enable workers to adapt basic ergonomic principles to existing work environments and thus enhance work flow and personal comfort. This paper is a description of the training methods used and the results reported by trainers and clients.

The introduction of ergonomics: A problem of industrial practice

The problem of introducing ergonomics into a major chemical industry was tackled by a novel approach which allowed the industry concerned access to a wide range of ergonomics skills. This allowed appropriate expertise to be applied as necessary to the variety of problems arising in the design of a plant. The problems included equipment design and layout, thermal, auditory and visual environments, job design and training aids. The difficulties of identifying the benefits of such an introduction were dealt with by the use of a senior management seminar which employed a ‘paired presentation’ format to describe both the various contributions made by the ergonomists to the industry and the evaluation by the individual recipients of such contributions.